Deadline day could go a massive way to defining Hibs’ season. They need at least one more defender in – an experienced head you could hang your hat on – or else I see it being another year of near misses.
I’ll put it this way, signing a good, solid defender could be the difference between top six or bottom six and we all know finishing among the also-rans again is completely unacceptable. You can’t keep conceding two or three goals every week and hope to outscore the opposition. But that’s what is happening. David Gray has said as much.
Luke McCowan would be a fantastic signing. I’ve said it for a long time. But whether or not Hibs are successful with their move for the Dundee skipper there’s no doubt that bringing in a solid defender is FAR more important. The problems all lie at the back and I’m not convinced by the two new central defensive signings Marvin Ekpiteta and Warren O’Hora who have both gifted cheap goals already.
It’s why I would have kept Paul Hanlon at the club. He’s better than what Hibs have at the minute. And that says it all. Middle to front is looking good, Hibs have goals in them, which makes the problems at the other end all the more frustrating. Against Dundee at the weekend, when that elusive first Premiership win was as good as in the bag, O’Hora got caught wrong side and allowed Simon Murray to run through and equalise in the last two minutes.
That’s shocking. When you score twice at home to Dundee then you should win the game. The problems were there under Lee Johnson and Nick Montgomery. They just couldn’t keep clean sheets and it’s worrying the trait is still there with the new-look central defensive partnership.
There’s three senior central defenders now on the books – O’Hora, Ekpiteta and Rocky Bushiri – and I’m not convinced by any of them. The last four games – St Mirren away, Celtic at home and away and now Dundee at Easter Road – have all been characterised by individual errors in defence. Sloppy pass backs, getting caught wrong side, not knowing where the striker is. It’s basic, basic stuff..
Ekpiteta and O’Hora are learning quickly they will not get away with switching off in the Premiership.They’ll get punished and that’s what’s happening over and over. They need to improve quickly. The time for bedding in is well past.
As I said, if they don’t tighten up they won’t make the top six and that’s unthinkable two years in a row. So it’s going to be a big day for Gray, Malky Mackay and everyone involved in the recruitment process at Hibs.
It’s a mad 24 hours for players too. I remember being at Dundee and having the chance to go to St Johnstone under Owen Coyle on deadline day. I spoke to Owen but we couldn’t agree terms with Dundee for me to complete the move so I ended up staying at Dens even though I was out the picture there.
It’s a bit of a stress for players and no doubt the clubs too. When it goes down to the last minute you are taking massive risks. There’s not a lot of time to negotiate personal terms, fees with the other club and the player’s head can be all over the place with not knowing who he’ll wake up playing for the next day. So I totally understand why deals can fall through at the last minute.
Who knows what will happen with McCowan with Celtic and Hibs both apparently in for him. But the player is in a strong position. He’s out of contract at the end of the season and knows he could move for nothing in the summer which could strengthen his options.
To be honest, I don’t see that one happening with Hibs at this late stage. That’s fine because, as I keep saying, the priority lies at the other end of the park. If they could get two players in before 11pm tonight then I’d like them both to be centre halves.
It’s been a different story up the business end of the pitch. Kieron Bowie looks a fantastic signing – the type of striker Hibs have lacked for a while. Against Celtic he came on and hit the bar and looked a real handful. He’s a big, strong lad and puts himself about, wants to get in the box and get shots on goal. His goal against Dundee was tremendous, outmuscling the defender and slamming home a terrific shot from an angle.
He’s young, raw and has real good potential and the same goes for Mykola Kuharevich who Hibs fans obviously know a lot more about after his loan spell two seasons ago.
Add to that Nicky Cadden, Junior Hoilett, Martin Boyle and the fact Eli Youan has still to come back from injury and there’s tonnes of options in the forward areas. Creating and scoring goals is not going to be a problem which is exciting. It’s just the backline which, right now, is excruciating.